The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing soybean curd, and more particularly to an apparatus for producing in large quantities fine-textured soybean curd ("kinugoshi tofu") as placed in containers, i.e., soybean curd which is obtained by coagulating a mixture of soybean milk and a coagulant as placed in containers without dewatering and molding.
As disclosed, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 94648/1991, apparatus of the type mentioned are already known which comprise means for filling a mixture of soybean milk and a coagulant into coagulating buckets, means for heating the mixture to coagulate the mixture into soybean curd, means for placing a receiving member on the curd in each of the buckets without dewatering the curd, bucket inverting means for inverting the bucket and the receiving member as placed on the soybean curd, means for withdrawing the soybean curd as supported on the receiving member from the bucket by moving down the inverted receiving member, covering means for placing an inverted container over the soybean curd on the receiving member, and means for inverting the inverted container.
When withdrawn as supported on the receiving member from the bucket, the fine-textured soybean curd, which is very soft, liable to deform and fragile unlike harder or coarse-textured soybean curd ("momen tofu"), readily deforms. If the container is placed over the deformed curd, the container is likely to cut off part of the curd, which becomes a faulty product. The ratio of occurrence of such rejects is usually 7 to 10% and is by no means low.